Moulin, a new bistro in the shadow of John Wayne Airport, is filling up fast with folks chattering in French. Open since September, Moulin is the passion project of Paris native Laurent Vrignaud ... he’s living his longtime dream of owning an authentic bistro, serving the classics, selling oven-fresh baguettes, and peddling wines and other French pantry items.

Event Calendars

O.C. abounds with restaurants eager to pamper couples looking for a special night out. Katherine Nguyen offers seven suggestions for date-night destinations, from casual Kettlebar to sumptuous Studio at the Montage.

More Life in O.C.

Just across the freeway from downtown San Juan Capistrano, Marbella Plaza offers top-notch restaurants and an upscale boutique, each with a distinct style and vibe, away from the hustle and bustle of the historic district.

More O.C. Guides

We surveyed more than 100 dining insiders in Orange County to come up with this list. Where do our favorite O.C. chefs go on date night? What's the dive bar of choice for the county's star bartenders? Where do the hot chefs hang out after hours? Read on.

Recent Articles

The Jury’s still out on these new places

As we rounded up our Best New Restaurants of 2015 in Orange County, we encountered a few that just hadn’t been open long enough to make the cut. Driftwood Kitchen: We can’t deny the stunning view from this Laguna Beach open-air dining room, but we’re looking for more consistent seasonal fare and smoother hospitality. We already […]

Peek Inside a Furnished $12.5 Million Laguna Beach Home

To look forward, sometimes you have to look back. Or so real estate website Zillow suggests in naming midcentury modern one of its top five design trends for 2015. The footnote? Go light on midcentury furnishings or the look will overtake your home. It’s all about minimalism. “The midcentury movement focused on form and function,” […]

Our friend’s little house held a troubling secret, but also a buried treasure

A modest brown house sits on a tranquil, tree-lined street in Santa Ana. Though we’d been friends with the owner for more than 12 years and we live nearby in Huntington Beach, he had never invited us in. We didn’t understand until the night we got a phone call. “I need your help,” said our […]

Newport Beach’s Moulin is a Francophile’s dream

Moulin, a new bistro in the shadow of John Wayne Airport, is filling up fast with folks chattering in French. Open since September, Moulin is the passion project of Paris native Laurent Vrignaud … he’s living his longtime dream of owning an authentic bistro, serving the classics, selling oven-fresh baguettes, and peddling wines and other French pantry items.

Moulin owner and Paris native Laurent Vrignaud has built an empire out of Moulin Bistro in Newport Beach, where you’ll find a full-on French market and family-style takeout food. Here are some of our favorite authentic finds from Moulin.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR: PUEBLO 3321 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa, 714-340-5775, pueblotapas.com Pueblo truly is a first of its kind in Orange County. Modern Spanish tapas are the lure here, with executive chef Michael Campbell’s dishes so spot-on they sound familiar to travelers with Spanish stamps on their passports. Mejillones en Vinagreta—chilled mussels, saffron, and […]

Italian wine nomenclature can be daunting, but there are many excellent values in Italian wine waiting for those who seek them out. Here’s a perfect example. Here’s the breakdown on the name: La Valentina Farm is the winery, which has been producing quality wines for over 20 years; montepulciano is a widely planted red Italian […]

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) submitted its 2015 scientific report in February to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA to inform the government on what’s new on diet, nutrition, and health. It’s a prelude to developing national nutrition policy and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published every five years. […]

Orange County’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants

As part of this year’s Best New Restaurants cover feature, Orange Coast dining critic Gretchen Kurz spotlights some of the most memorable dishes she discovered this year while reporting the story. Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on fine dining, despite my sterling record as an enthusiastic, lifelong omnivore. My role, typically, is limited […]